As Ciqufrinz prepares to open up the next round, he suddenly notices that one of the audience members seems to have entered the announcement booth.
"Can I help you?" Ciqufrinz asks, narrowing his eyes at the intruder.
"Yes, my name is TwoHat, could I get a shoutout?"
"A...shoutout? I mean, if you're willing to pay us and be a sponsor, then sure, I guess?" Ciqufrinz shrugs.
"Alright cool." TwoHat scuttles out of the room and back into the audience, and Ciqufrinz looks back down at the Grand Arena, before the area is lit up, revealing a raised platform in the middle of the battleground, with the entire floor being covered in spikes, and, after a few seconds, a raging fire begins as well, casting an orange glow onto the platform. From the ceiling, two pedestals lower down, and Ciqufrinz begins his announcement.
"We now enter the final round of the quarterfinals! After this, we'll really be in the final stretch of this Tournament! Neither of these fighters needs any further introduction: It's Celebra and Kyle! And, of course, what better way for these two to have a final showdown than in a simple match of fencing? I guess it's a bit more like sumo wrestling, here, but you know, that just makes it more fun! Furthermore, both fighters have been forced to wear Stand Suppressors, so that neither of their particularly potent abilities ruin the enjoyment of the battle."
Kyle and Celebra stare each other down, each with their own personalized fencing sword in hand. The platform on which they have been placed is mere meters in diameter, leaving very little room for any fancy maneuvering and indicating that this will most likely be a fight of pure skill and strength rather than any sort of trickery and manipulation. In fact, it almost seems like the fencing swords are meant to be a diversion, as it seems unlikely that they would be able to aid whatsoever in knocking somebody off of the platform. The horn is blown, and the clacking of the two swords colliding can be heard ringing out through the Grand Arena amidst the crackling of the flames below.
"That thing you said earlier...you mentioned that this is more of a show than a battle." Celebra notes, staring into Kyle's eyes.
"That I did. Do you wish to dispute my claim?" Kyle sneers, twirling around as he dodges out of the way of a thrust from Celebra's weapon.
"I simply wish to keep the thought up in the air, because the outcome of this fight will show whether or not that statement is accurate. Now, no more speaking. I refuse to let you get distracted by such trivial things." Celebra hops back, strafing near the edge of the platform as Kyle mirrors his movements on the other side. Kyle nods, flashing a smile before resuming a calm and concentrated expression, calculating the best ways of taking the victor in this situation. After a few seconds, Kyle lunges forwards, jabbing his weapon straight into Celebra's abdomen. Celebra takes the hit, but doesn't budge. Instead, Celebra thrusts his own sword forwards, catching the collar of Kyle's shirt and lifting him up off the ground, before spinning around and dangling him over the edge of the platform. Celebra, without hesitating, then proceeds to let go of his sword, dropping it and Kyle down below the precipice and towards the hazards below. He doesn't let his guard down, though, because he knows that the odds of Kyle being able to come back from that are probably rather high. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Celebra hears the sounds of shoes landing back on the platform, and turns around to see Kyle pulling himself back over the edge, having directed himself to the pole holding up the platform and climbed it to return to the platform. Both his own weapon and Celebra's are clasped in Kyle's teeth, and he pulls both out, twirling one with each hand, before pointing them towards Celebra and smirking. Celebra smiles back, and holds his arms out, challenging Kyle to make his move. Kyle lowers both swords, tapping their tips against the ground, before dashing forwards, causing a clattering noise as the tips of the blades repeatedly clack against the platform. Celebra steps to the side before Kyle can reach him, and then reaches out to grab where Kyle should be, but, to his surprise, Kyle is suddenly nowhere to be seen. Celebra looks around, wondering if perhaps Kyle managed to foolishly be so caught off guard by Celebra's sidestep that he threw himself straight off the edge of the platform without stopping. Celebra hears the sounds of the two fencing swords clattering to the ground below, and grows more agitated in his inability to locate his opponent. After looking around once more, Celebra cautiously lowers his gaze over the edge of the platform, making his way in a circle to see if Kyle is hanging off the side anywhere. After still being unable to find Kyle, Celebra sighs, and takes hold of the edge of the platform, dangling over it and squinting through the clouds of smoke to see if Kyle is anywhere to be seen on the underside of the platform or on the pole. After just a few seconds of searching, Celebra makes out the unmistakable glittery sheen of Kyle's clothes against the pole, obscured mostly by smoke but still visible, with legs seemingly wrapped around the pole to stay in place.
"Come on, now. Come and get me. It's not a very difficult jump." Kyle's voice calls out through the smoke. "Or would you prefer I slowly get sweaty, lose my grip and slide down? Wouldn't that be a disappointing way to win?"
"You are but a fool." Celebra scowls. "You try still to win with trickery, and I will not allow it. You have put yourself in a situation where you cannot win unless I make a mistake, and I will not play along with your pathetic attempt at tricking me."
"Oh, but you already have." Kyle declares, from right above Celebra. Before Celebra can react, Kyle stomps on his fingers, wriggling his foot around until Celebra lets go of the edge with one hand. Kyle then grabs the other hand, prying its fingers off the edge and holding Celebra in place, as he grins at him over the edge.
"What...kind of garbage�" Celebra growls, but Kyle gently places a finger over Celebra's mouth.
"Sshhhh. You seriously can't figure it out? It was rather basic, really. I simply took off my shiny stage clothes and hid in my underwear on the other side of the pole until you came down to look for me. Then, once I got you talking, I simply made that same jump I made to get back up earlier, and now here I am. You should have taken your own advice and not gotten distracted by talking." Kyle laughs, before releasing Celebra's hand, causing the awestruck Celebra to fall directly onto a spike, his gaze of bewilderment burning to a crisp with the rest of his body as the crowd boos loudly. Kyle winks as he's transported to the victors' area once again, and the lights to the Grand Arena are dimmed once more, with the flames fizzling out into the darkness.
